Papertwin – Vox Humana EP

From Brooklyn, New York, Papertwin offer the newest level of electronica available at the moment on their new Vox Humana EP. Theirs is the kind of music that's extremely clever, with oh-so many layers, that means when you see them live, you can’t stop staring at the various gadgets they seamlessly combine to make their delightful concoction of sound. While the term “laptop DJ” isn’t exactly positive - we’ve all been to those nights with one man and his iPod placed on shuffle - this is a wholly fresh take on technology in the way that it should be used - VoxHumana has synthesizers and programming mixed with traditional guitar and the occasional bit of drums.

Like something from a sci-fi film, the EP opens to the bang of keyboards and what can only be described as that ‘ping ping ping’ noise the lazer guns in Star Wars make. There's a weird balance of old and new here, with a futuristic edge yet an 80s glam electro influence as well. While the vocals aren’t strong, that's in no way a negative point; they complement the style of music down to a tee. With so much going on, there couldn’t be anything worse than some boring folk singer-songwriter humming and whistling about his 'deep' feelings over the top.

Every song is enjoyable, but the stand out track of Vox Humana has to be "Arco". It has that ‘epic’ sound to it, as the tempo builds. It's the sort of track you can imagine in some really cool cult film., and talking of epic cult film soundtracks, Papertwin do have a Drive feel about them. It's the Kavinsky vibe.

That futuristic feel with the mix of 80s electro is probably the best way to describe synth-y pop like Papertwin. Having picked out Vox Humana at random, this was a pleasant surprise. A brilliant little EP.